The Kennel Club is concerned with protecting those breeds of dog which are of British origin and are considered to be vulnerable i.e. those whose numbers are declining and whose status within the world of dogs has diminished over a number of years. More information can be found at the Save The Forgotten Breeds Campaign page.

The KC considers a breed to be “Vulnerable” if it has less than 300 registrations in any given calendar year. An “At Watch” classification is given to those breeds which register between 300 and 450.

* KC’s official list still records the English Setter as “At Watch”, despite a 2017 registration figure of 261; we believe this is in error.

** See our earlier article regarding the 20 most popular dog breeds in 2017.

*** Note: the Greyhound, Foxhound, and Jack Russell Terrier are excluded from this list despite being British breeds with low numbers. In the case of the latter, this is because it is a new breed which was only officially recognised in 2015. In the case of the former two, it is due to the fact that many dogs of these breeds exist in racing circles and hunt kennels, but are just not formally registered with the Kennel Club.